Court takes cognisance of BRS leader KT Rama Rao's defamation case against Telangana minister Konda Surekha
Following this development, the court has directed Surekha to appear before it on Aug 21.
KTR had filed a private complaint last year, seeking the court's intervention to prosecute Surekha for allegedly defaming him through statements made to the media. In her remarks, she reportedly made serious accusations against KTR, which he claimed were defamatory.
You Can Also Check:
Hyderabad AQI
|
Weather in Hyderabad
|
Bank Holidays in Hyderabad
|
Public Holidays in Hyderabad
'The court has taken cognisance of the petition. As per procedure, the statements of witnesses concerned will now be recorded. Based on the evidence, the court will later decide whether to frame charges against the accused. The matter is still in its early stages,' said Surekha's legal team.
Prominent actor Nagarjuna had also filed a separate criminal defamation petition against Surekha, which the court had already taken cognisance of earlier.
Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with
Friendship Day wishes
,
messages
and
quotes
!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Dam-ning report on Kaleshwaram puts KCR in Congress crosshairs
During the assembly election campaign in Telangana in 2023, the Congress went to town displaying a dummy ATM, calling it the 'Kaleshwaram ATM'. It was even programmed to give out fake currency notes to drive home the message that the money that had been allegedly "looted" by the then-ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime by undertaking the Kaleshwaram multi-irrigation project on the Godavari river, belonged to the people of charge has now attained official status, with the stamp of approval issued by the Justice PC Ghose Commission of Inquiry that was appointed to investigate allegations of 'negligence, irregularities and lacunae in the Planning, Designing and Construction' of the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram project. The Commission that was also tasked with probing alleged financial irregularities, contract execution and operation and maintenance, has now submitted its report to the Telangana government and has severely indicted the entire decision-making process on Kaleshwaram. It has found rampant procedural and financial irregularities, lack of proper planning, design flaws, and construction Justice Ghose committee is not a wishy-washy mass of words. The former Supreme Court judge who was also Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High court, has not minced words and has directly held former chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, his then Irrigation minister and nephew T Harish Rao, his then Finance minister E Rajender, who is now with the BJP and senior IAS officers responsible for "disregard for established procedures, resulting in colossal waste of public money". Politically, the attempt is to discredit Kaleshwaram that the BRS is proud of trumpeting as one of its major achievements in its decade-long reign in Telangana. But the common man on the street is unlikely to worry too much about the unilateralism of the decision-making process and the fact that cabinet approvals were not taken before greenlighting certain key aspects of the project. This is because it was well known that there was only one decision maker in the BRS government under KCR and most cabinet ministers, barring those who belonged to the BRS first family, were mere yes men and will however, hurt the BRS is the allegation of corruption. The project initially conceived at Rs 38500 crores escalated to Rs 71436 crore in 2016 and later saw revised administrative approvals for Rs 1,10,248 crore by 2022. That is where the Anti-Corruption Bureau comes in. In April, the agency arrested B Hari Ram, the engineer-in-chief of the Kaleshwaram project and the Managing Director of the Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project Corporation, after it was found that he had amassed properties worth Rs 200 crore - a clear case of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Hari Ram along with other senior engineers, is mentioned in the Ghose report and singled out for "negligence, dishonesty and perjury". This case only gives ammunition to the Congress charge that many in the Kaleshwaram pipeline, starting from the top, made hay while the sun is interesting to note that when it comes to Kaleshwaram, both the Congress and the BJP speak in the same voice. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too had called the project "an ATM for KCR's family" and the Centre, despite several requests by the then BRS government, refused to grant it national does it mean for the politics of Telangana?The Kaleshwaram report comes at an inopportune time for the BRS, which is grappling with the fighting that has broken out within the first family and engulfed other senior leaders of the party. KCR's daughter Kavitha has raised the banner of revolt against the "coterie'' that surrounds the BRS supremo. The war of words got ugly with Kavitha choosing to body-shame former Power minister Jagdish Reddy, ridiculing him as "Lilliput'' an intemperate reference to his the BRS is likely to play the victim card, highlighting instead the agricultural land that got irrigated as a result of Kaleshwaram. It knows that while the Revanth Reddy government will order further investigation, the CM will think twice before proceeding legally against KCR, given the Andhra Pradesh experience. Jaganmohan Reddy's decision to arrest Chandrababu Naidu in the Skill Development scam case in 2023 led to an outpouring of sympathy for the septuagenarian leader, who spent 53 days in jail. It translated into a massive victory for the Telugu Desam-led NDA the following Congress will do is to play the Kaleshwaram card aggressively in the local body elections in both rural Telangana and in Hyderabad, hoping to generate voter traction. The report also provides the government with an opening to order a further probe into "malicious intent'' to "benefit and make unlawful gain'' and even recovery of Rs 677 lakh from officials responsible for the decision to ignore the report by a central government agency. The probes will keep Kaleshwaram in the public consciousness and force the BRS on the in the BJPInterestingly, the report will have its fallout in the BJP as well as it will gladden the hearts of the anti-Rajender camp in the saffron party. Rajender, who was passed over when the new president of the Telangana unit was appointed, and has been upset with the BJP leadership ever since, has been cited as having demonstrated "a lack of commitment and integrity in safeguarding the financial and economic health of the newly-formed state.''In the run-up to the 2023 polls, Revanth Reddy, in a bid to whip up political tempers, had repeatedly promised to send the KCR family to prison. Earlier this year, Kavitha was arrested in the Delhi liquor case and was released after five months in Tihar jail. Kaleshwaram will now be the next big challenge for the Kalvakuntla family.- Ends(Views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author)Must Watch
Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
Friendship Day dinner turns tragic as a 21-year-old run over by truck in Thane
A 21-year-old woman who was riding pillion with a friend while returning home was killed after a speeding container truck rammed into their two-wheeler Sunday night in Maharashtra's Thane. Palak Solanki and Pawan Mhaisala, 24, who was driving the two-wheeler, had gone to drop another friend, Zoya, at her Mumbra residence after dinner when the accident took place near Reti Bunder Junction in Mumbra, said the Thane police. According to a police complaint filed by Mhaisala, he and Solanki were returning home on his Suzuki Access 125 scooter around 11.30 pm Sunday. They dropped off a friend, Zoya, at her home in Amrit Nagar in Mumbra. 'He said that since it was Friendship Day on Sunday, they had decided to go out for dinner,' an officer said. Mhaisala stated in his complaint that as they reached Retibandar No 4, a container truck travelling towards Nashik hit their scooter from behind. Mhaisala lost control of the vehicle because of the impact, and both he and Solanki fell onto the road. The rear wheel of the container then ran over Solanki's head, causing her to die on the spot, he added. Mhaisa suffered a fractured ankle and bruises to his waist, left shoulder, and right leg in the crash. Two or three pedestrians who witnessed the accident rushed to help him. Mhaisa then called Zoya, who in turn called Solanki's relatives to the scene. The complainant alleged that the container driver was driving at high speed, disregarded road conditions, and fled the scene without reporting the accident. The police said a case has been registered against the unknown driver and the container truck at the Mumbra Police Station. They added that an investigation is underway to locate the vehicle as well as the individual responsible for the accident.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
BRS' Kavitha demands separate quota for Muslims, delinking it from BC reservation
BRS MLC and Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha on Monday demanded that the Congress government delink the proposed 42 per cent reservation for BCs from a separate quota for Muslims. Kavitha, who started a 72-hour fast in support of the BC quota issue at Indira Park here, cited the BJP's opposition to the inclusion of Muslims in the 42 per cent quota proposed for Backward Classes (BC). Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Data Science Operations Management Digital Marketing MBA Artificial Intelligence Finance PGDM Data Science Others Healthcare healthcare Management Project Management CXO Public Policy Product Management Design Thinking MCA Cybersecurity Leadership Technology Skills you'll gain: Strategic Data-Analysis, including Data Mining & Preparation Predictive Modeling & Advanced Clustering Techniques Machine Learning Concepts & Regression Analysis Cutting-edge applications of AI, like NLP & Generative AI Duration: 8 Months IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Starts on Jun 26, 2024 Get Details "(Congress government) should declare openly that a separate bill would be introduced in assembly to provide 10 per cent reservation for Muslims. We demand that the 10 per cent reservation be provided separately to Muslims without including the quota to Muslim minorities in the 42 per cent. Then the onus would be on BJP (approving of 42 per cent quota for BCs)," she said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 Most Beautiful Female Athletes in the World Click Here Undo Kavitha called on the Congress government to clarify whether Muslims are part of the proposed 42 per cent. Claiming that the Congress government granted permission for her protest only from 10 am to 4 pm, which is far shorter than the 72 hours sought by her, Kavitha said her organisation will knock on the doors of the High Court seeking permission for the 72-hour fast. Live Events Kavitha, who has of late been making critical comments against BRS leaders, is organising political activities under the banner of Telangnaa Jagruthi, a cultural organisation headed by her. Responding to Kavitha's fast, state Backward Classes Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the MLC should shift her fast to Delhi as the decision on the issue is to be taken in the national capital. Similar to Telangana statehood agitation, all organisations and parties should join forces to realise the 42 per cent quota for BCs, he said. The Telangana Legislative Assembly had passed two bills in March to enhance BC reservation to 42 per cent in education, employment, and local bodies. The bills were forwarded to the Governor and are currently awaiting Presidential assent. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and other Congress leaders have planned to undertake a dharna at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on August 6, demanding Presidential assent for the Backward Classes reservation bills. Revanth Reddy and other senior leaders would also seek an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu on August 7 to submit a memorandum regarding the pending bills.
